Study suggests that breast self examinations do more harm than good. Is this true?

Are breast self examinations a waste of time?

There have been reports in the newspapers this week (July 08) that women checking their breasts for early signs of cancer are "a waste of time" and that they "do more harm than good".

This has been reported after a study of women mainly in Russia and China, half of whom checked their breasts and half did not. The study found that the death rates from breast cancer were the same in both groups, and that the self checkers had twice as many biopsies.

From my experience on This Morning, and from our online videos, I know that women have checked themselves and found lumps which could have been fatal. I have emails and letters from many women who say that these checks have saved their lives.

The advice is clear, women need to know their breasts and need to check for any changes in appearance or feeling by looking and touching regularly. This may be called "TLC" - Touch, Look and Check - or self-examination, but the outcome is the same - you should know how your breasts and check them for any changes. It could save your life.

The real issue here is that you do not need to follow a set routine or highly complicated instructions, you just need to get to know your own body and check it regularly for any changes.

You can watch our self-examination video here Breast Self examination video.


This content was created on Wed 16 July 2008

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